Attachment plug assembling machine



April 28, 1942. N. CHIRELSTEIN ATTACHMENT PLUG ASSEMBLING MACHINEINVENTOR.

ATTORNE'Y.

April 28, 1942.

N. CHIRELSTEIN ATTACHMENT PLUG ASSEMBLING MACHINE Filed March 13, 1940 3Sheets-Sheet 3 F INVENTOR. 1mm BY Patented Apr. 28, 1942 err ATTACHMENTPLUG ASSEMBLING MACHINE Nathan Chirelstein, Chicago, Ill.

Application March 13, 1940, Serial No. 323,656

7 Claims.

The invention herein disclosed relates to the assembling of the wiresand contact blades in the caps or body members of electric attachmentplugs and particularly those in which the caps are of molded rubber.

Broad objects of the invention are to provide simple, practical andefiicient mechanism for rapidly assembling such parts.

Further special objects are to accomplish the assembling of the plugparts with a minimum of strain and wear on the parts or on the machineand thus to enable a relatively light and inexpensive form of mechanismto accomplish all the purposes of the invention.

The foregoing and other desirable objects are attained by the novelfeatures of construction, combinations and relations of partshereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings andbroadly covered in the claims.

In the drawings, there is shown one of the practical commercialembodiments of the invention, but as this illustration is primarily forpurposes of disclosure, it will be realized that structure may bemodified and changed in various ways, all within the true intent andbroad scope of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the machine.

Figs. 2 and 3 are diagrammatic views showing how the rubber plug cap isslipped over the spreader fingers in one position and then turned aquarter way around to line it up for the spreading action.

Fig. 4 is a broken plan view showing the plug and spreader fingersrocked down into the operating cavity in the machine.

Fig, 5 is a broken longitudinal sectional view on substantially theplane of line 5--5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a broken cross-sectional view sub-- stantially on the line 66of Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 is a broken cross-section as on line 1-! of Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a broken plan similar to Fig. 4., showing the spreader fingersseparated to stretch the plug and the needles as having advanced throughthe opened up plug passages into position for the blades to be caughtthereon.

Fig. 9 is a like view, but showing the needles withdrawn and the bladesseated in the plug cap, the latter appearing in section and stillengaged on the spreader fingers.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged broken sectional detail as on line Iii-10 of Fig.9.

Fig, 11 is a perspective view of a completed, assembled connector plug.

In the general view, Fig. 1, the machine is shown as comprising first apair of spreader fin.- gers l5, l5, adapted to enter the cord passage inthe back of a molded plug cap and pivotally mounted in opposing relationon the inner ends of the relatively separable slides l6, l6. Thesefingers are illustrated as having laterally offset and substantiallyparallel .base portions I1, pivotally entered in the slots I8, I8, inthe upper edges of the slides, thus to provide solid end portions l9,19, to brace and support the fingers in the plug spreading and openingmovement.

To yieldingly hold the spreader fingers in various positions ofadjustment, they are shown in Fig. 6 as pivoted on the pins 20, guidedin passages 2|, in the ends 19, of slides l6, and having heads 22,slidable in the bores 23, into engagement with the base portions ll, ofthe fingers and yieldingly held so by springs 24, in said bores,retained by the closure screws 25. This construction permits thespreader fingers to turn up or down on the slides and causes them to beyieldingly retained in either of such relations.

The spreader slides or doors iii are yieldingly pressed toward eachother by the springs 26, on guide rods 21, carried by and projectinginward from the removable side plates 28, closing the outer ends of thetransverse channel 29, in which the slides operate.

Opening of the transverse spreader slides or doors I6 is efiected by alongitudinally operating slide 30, having a forward narrowed end 3|,projecting through the notched lower edges 32, of the doors and inclinedwedge shoulders 33, operating as cams to force the doors apart.

The wedge slide 30 is shown as operating in a longitudinal guide channel34, and as actuated by the rod 35, connected with a piston operating inthe power cylinder 36.

In the present disclosure, power is furnished by compressed air suppliedthrough line 31, to a foot valve 38, which, when the pedal 39 isdepressed, furnishes air through line 4-0, toone end of the cylinder andwhen depressed the next time, delivers air through line 4|, to theopposite end of the cylinder, exhausting air from the inactive end ofthe cylinder each time through an exhaust line 42.

The stroke of the power piston is limited to accurately control themovement of the operating slide 30, and to prevent injury to the pistonfrom striking the heads of the cylinder, by provision of a solid strikerplate 43, at the back of the machine engageable at one side by the endof the slide (Fig. 5) and engageable at the opposite side by an abutmentnut 44, adjustable on the combination slide and piston rod 35.

In the retracted position, Figs 4 and 6, the reduced tongue 3!, on theend of the slide by its entry between the doors 16, positions the latterwith the spreader fingers in engagement and located centrally of theplug cap receiving cavity 45. In this position, with the fingersstanding up as in Fig. l, the parts are ready to receive the plug cap.The plug cap or body member here illustrated is like that covered in theChirelstein Patent 2,187,489, January 16, 1940, and comprising a block46, of rubber or other suitable resilient insulating material moldedwith spaced seats 51, at the front end of the same, straight,substantially parallel narrow passages d8, extending from such end seatsinto the chamber 49, and cord passage 50, extending from said chamberthrough the back of the body. The contact blades for this particularplug, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, are of the same width throughout andsubstantially straight except for the slight transversely extendingU-bends 5|, in the intermediate portions of the same, which provide theshoulders 52, to engage the seats 41, on the end of the plug body andshoulders 53, to abut the surfaces 54, at the inner ends of the bladereceiving passages 43. These blades also are shown as having inturnedreversely bent spring end portions 55, with openings 56, therein. Thisrelation of parts effects a secure positioning and interlocking of thecontacts in the plug body and at the same time, afiords a construction,which under the stretching action of the spreader fingers, opens up theplug body, so that the blades can be introduced by a straight throughmovement.

Fig. 8 shows the spreader fingers separated and the plug body stretchedopen for the straight entry of the contact blades.

Insertion of the blades is effected in the present machine by a pair ofso-called needles which are projected through the opened plug passagesand then, after the contacts are temporarily engaged therewith,withdrawn to pull the contacts into position, at which time, thespreader fingers then permit the plug body to snap closed over theinserted blades.

The blade pulling needles are designated 5?, and are shown as the sidearms of a U-shaped piece of spring strip metal carrying near the freeends of the same, the small projecting points 58, to enter the openings56, in the spring ends of the blades.

The needle strips 57, are tensioned toward each other as shown in Fig.9, by the integral connecting back or bridge portion 59, and theseneedles are attached to the slide by having this back portion entered inthe cross slot 65, in the top of the slide.

To temporarily retain the blades engaged on the short pins 58, a secondU-shaped spring strip is shown, disposed about the U-shaped needlepiece, having inwardly tensioned side arms 5|, projecting beyond theneedles and connected by a back portion 62, seated in the same slot 60,in

the top of the slide. These two U-shaped springclips nest one within theother as shown and are held in place by simply engaging the loop ends ofthe same in the cross slot of the slide, the cover plate 63, securedover the slide retaining them in this relation.

Thespring needles 51, and the spring guards 6l,fat the outer sides ofthe same are held properly spread to pass freely through the widenedpassages 48, in the stretched plug by an interposed stationary post 64.In the fully retracted position, Fig. 4, the inwardly bent tips 65, ofthe guard fingers 6!, rest against the sides of this post, with thepoints of the needles collapsed in more closely spaced relation againstthe reduced portion 56, of the post. This reduced or thinned portion isshown connected with the wider head portion of the post by inclines 67,which enable the needles to collapse away from the guard fingers in theretractive movement of the slide.

Operation.

With the slide retracted and the spreader fingers l5, standing up as inFig. 1, the plug cap 46, is engaged over these fingers, usually byengaging the cord passage 50, the long way, over the fingers as in Fig.2, and then rotating the plug a quarter turn as in Fig. 3, in whichlatter relation the plug and fingers are rocked downward, thus to carrythe plug down in the operating cavity 45, with the front end of the sameup against or closely adjacent the guide post 64, Figs. 4 and 5.

Pressure on the foot pedal 39, then throws the air or other fiuid intothe back end of the power cylinder 36, causing the piston to snap theslide 30, forwardly from the Fig. 4 to the Fig. 8 posi-' tion. In thismovement, the inclines 33, on the slide, acting against the inclines 10,on the doors, thrust the doors apart, causing the spreader fingers l5,on the inner ends of the doors to stretch the plug and fully open up thepassages 48,-

so that the needles 51, and guard fingers 6|, can

advance freely through said passages.

With the needles and guard fingers projecting from the distended plug asin Fig. 8, the con-. tacts are then caught over thepointed spurs 58, ofthe needles, usually by simply forcing the wedge-like spring points ofthe blades up between the needles and the spring fingers at the outersides of the same. At such time, the wires 68, will usually have beensoldered to the terminal portions of the blades at 69, so that suchwires can be used as an aid in positioning and engaging the blades overthe spurs of the needles. As a further aid for so engaging the parts,the machine is shown provided with a small table II, in front of andunderlying the projecting needles 51, and guard fingers 6|.

With the blades thus temporarily connected with the needles, the footpedal 39, is again operated and this time the power fluid admitted tothe front end of the cylinder by piping 4|, snaps the slide backward,pulling the needles and attached blades back through the still openedgates IE, to a position approaching that shown in Fig. 9, the bladesbeing substantially fully drawn up into the plug body at the time whenthe retracting slide 30, drops the doors closed, permitting the spreaderfingers to let the elastic plug body snap closed over the inserted shankportions of the contact blades.

In retracting to the position shown in Fig. 9,

the spring needles 51, collapse'over the reduced back portion of thepost 64, thus to withdraw the pins 58, thereon'from engagement in theopenings 55, in the spring tips of the contact blades.

The plug then fully assembled and simply frictionally retained in themachine, may be removed by simply jerking the attached Wires 68, upwardaway from the spreader fingers [5, such action having the efiect ofpulling the plug entirely off and clear of such fingers. This movementalso will usually have the effect of rocking the spreader fingers backinto,the upstanding position, Fig. 1, ready to receive the next plugcap.

To overcome any tendency and to positively prongs then to rotatedownward over such cam surfaces, which would operate automatically tospread the prongs away from and out of engagement with the needle spurs.

To afford clearance for any small cuttings or chips that might resultfrom operation of the machine, the operating slide is shown as having anopening '13, therethrough which, in the projected position of the slide,will register with an opening 14, down through the base of the machine,in line with the assembly cavity.

By stretching the elastic plug cap and thus opening up the bladepassages so that the needles can pass straight through and draw thelades back into position for the plug body to close over the blades, themachine makes it possible to commercially assemble a plug like thatshown, in which the blades have offset portions to engage side shouldersat opposite ends of the blade receiving passages. Furthermore, thispreliminary or preceding opening up of the plug passages enables arelatively light form of construction to be used for going through theexpanded passages and picking up the contact blades. The so-calledneedles used for this purpose simply have to be projected through theopened up passages and then pull the contact blades into the positionwhere the stretched cap can be released to close over the shanks of theblades. The only load imposed on the needles thus is the light tensionof drawing the contacts and attached wires up into position. The needlesconsequently can be of light strip stock and all in one continuousU-formation. Also, since no rocking or swinging movements are requiredand since the needles are not obliged to force open the plug or tofollow any sinuous passages therein, such needles can be quite thin,flexible and resilient instead of being more bulky as would be the caseif they had to be rigid and non-yielding. The spring guards inassociation with the needles as shown in Fig. 8, provide a means forpositioning or aiding in the associating of the contact blades with theneedles, constituting the pulling devices. The underlying shelf H, alsois of considerable aid in enabling the quick engagement of the bladeswith the prongs of such pulling devices.

The machine may be very simply constructed. In the illustration, asingle base casting 15, provides the foundation and support for all theparts. The head construction 16, at the front end of the base carriesthe longitudinal and transverse guideways for the slide 30, and thetransversely acting spreader doors i6, operated thereby. The powercylinder is shown mounted on the back end of the base. The machine inthis form is thus a single unit which can be set up by simply bolting itdown on a work bench or the like.

The power cylinder provides a desirable means for operating the machine,particularly as to speed. of action but other power means may besubstituted, or if so desired, the machine may be operated by hand orfoot power, through the medium of suitable actuating connectionsprovided for the purpose.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the character disclosed, the

permitting the rocking of a plug cap engaged thereon from a positionwith said plug cap standing in one plane to a position with said plugcap standing in another plane angularly related to the first.

2. In a machine of the character disclosed, the combination of spreaderslides opposed end-toend, means for effecting relative separation andapproach of said slides and spreader fingers pivotally mounted on saidopposed slides and projecting therefrom to enter the cord passage in theend of a stretchable plug cap, said slides having notches in the edgesof the same adjacent said opposing ends and said spreader fingers havingbase portions pivotally fitting in said notches and thereby supportedand reinforced by the material of the slides at opposite sides of saidnotches.

3. In a machine of the character disclosed, the combination of a slidehaving a notch across the edge of the same and a pair of U-shaped springyokes disposed one about the other and having the looped end portions ofthe same seated in said cross notch in the slide, the arms of the inneryoke having means for temporary holding engagement with the blades foran attachment plug and the arms of the outer yoke overstanding the armsof the inner yoke to retain attachment plug blades so engaged with saidarms of the inner yoke.

4. In a machine of the character disclosed, the combination of a springyoke provided with means for temporary holding engagement with theblades for an attachment plug and a second spring yoke about said firstspring yoke for retaining plug blades so engaged.

5. A machine for assembling contact blades in elastic attachment plugcaps having each a cord passage and communicating blade receivingpassages and comprising separable slides mounted in opposed end to endrelation, spreader fingers on the opposing ends of said slides to enterthe cord passage of an elastic plug cap and over which such a plug capmay be so engaged, a contact blade seating slide mounted to operatesubstantially at a right angle to said spreader finger slides, meanscarried by said contact blade seating slide for effecting separatingmovement. of said spreader finger slides and consequent stretching of aplug cap engaged over said spreader fingers, thin flat substantiallystraight strips carried by said contact blade seating slide in line withthe blade receiving passages of a plug cap engaged on said spreaderfingers and provided with means for efiecting temporary attachment ofcontact blades thereto and spring guard strips overlying said firstmentioned strips for confining attachment blades in attached relation.

6. A machine for assembling contact blades in elastic attachment plugcaps having each a cord passage and communicating blade receivingpassages and comprising separable slides mounted in opposed end to endrelation, spreader fingers on the opposing ends of said slides to enterthe cord passage of an elastic plug cap and over which such a plug capmay be so engaged, a contact blade seating slide mounted to operatesubstantially at a right angle to said spreader finger slides, meanscarried by said contact blade seating slide for efiecting separatingmovement of said spreader finger slides and consequent stretching of aplug cap engaged over said spreader fingers, thin flat substantiallystraight strips carried by said contact blade seating slide in line withthe blade receiving passages of a plug cap engaged on said spreaderfingers and provided with means for ellecting temporary attachment ofcontact blades thereto and guards overlying said strips for holdingcontact blades so attached thereto.

7. A machine for assembling contact blades in elastic attachment plugcaps having each a cord such temporarily passage and communicating bladereceiving passages and comprising separable slides mounted in opposedend to end relation, spreader fingers on the opposing ends of saidslides to enter the cord passage of an elastic plug cap and over whichsuch a plug cap may be so engaged, a contact blade seating slide mountedto operate substantially at a right angle to said spreader fingerslides, means carried by said contact blade seating slide for effectingseparating movement of said spreader finger slides and consequentstretching of a plug cap engaged over said spreader fingers and thinfiat substantially straight strips carried by said contact blade seatingslide in line with the blade receiving passages of a plug cap engaged onsaid spreader fingers and provided with means for efiecting temporaryattachment of contact blades thereto, said spreader fingers beingpivotally mounted on the opposing end portions of said separable slidesand movable from a position with a plug cap engaged thereon in line withsaid contact blade engaging strips, angularly to a position out of therange of movement of said strips.

NATHAN CHIRELSTEIN.

